Essential Oils

Essential Oils

Essential oils have become popular due to their therapeutic and aesthetic properties. For the most expensive essential oils, many pounds of plant material is pressed to make only one vial of oil. The result is an extremely potent plant essence that can be used for physical and mental healing, or for simply brightening and purifying a room in a diffuser.

While many compounds can be extracted from plant oils, many of these properties and chemical work synergistically. Many oils, like tea tree oil, have anti-bacterial, anti-viral, and/or anti-fungal effects. On the physical level, certain oils can be used for colds, foot fungus, bad breath, and dry skin, to name just a few. Tea Tree oil is very well known for it’s anti-fungal properties. Eucalyptus can help ease breathing difficulties when put in a diffuser or humidifier. Clary Sage can be used for acne.

Emotional Benefits

However, oils can also produce potent emotional effects. Lavender essential oil, for example, is not only a wonderful disinfectant, but it calms the mind, producing a feeling of ease and well-being. We use lavender in many of our massages and treatments for this reason. Frankincense has potent anti-depressant effects. It is a strong oil, fortifying and also useful for wrinkles. Finally, rose oil is great for depression, skin, and hormone imbalance. In addition, rose oil is one of the most luxurious and fragrant oils.

Remember to never use an essential oil “neat” or directly on the skin (although certain oils are safer than others, and some brands, i.e. Doterra, claim certain oils can be used directly on the skin and even internally). Please check with the manufacturer to ensure you are using the oil properly.

Unique Oils for Culinary Exploration

While oils like tea tree, lavender, and frankincense, are famous and known to most, many other plants are useful as essential oils. Lemon essential oil has a delightful flavor, quite unlike lemon juice. It is incredible used in cooking, or, with Doterra, as a drop in your water each morning for liver detox, or to simply keep your water bottle fresh and clean. Sweet orange or tangerine oils also make incredible flavorings for baked goods or water. Be careful putting citrus oils on the skin as they are often extremely phototoxic (meaning the sun activates them and they can create burns).

SpiritQuest specializes in designing customized retreat experiences for you. Private Retreats and Day Packages can be filled with powerful activities and treatments we call "Sessions". You can view these Sessions here to get an idea of the amazing possibilities available to you when you book a SpiritQuest Retreat.

Blog Categories

What a powerful experience! The releasing ceremony was a great way to start. I could feel my mind opening to the whole process.

Trisha, Wisconsin

"Thank you so much! I think of you often - our lives are truly different since we have returned home - our retreat soaked the seed and now a tiny shoot curls toward the air and light."

Lilavati, Chicago, IL

Words can’t express all the wonderful things I have experienced during the last seven days. Each session seemed in perfect order. I loved the fact that none of the practitioners had any other agenda other than me, that they didn’t look at their clocks, that they had nothing to sell me other than sharing their knowledge. What a wonderful gift that was.

Ellen, Turnwater, WA

We both remember our retreat with delight and laughter. I’d like to return immediately. We found this experience to be powerful and moving. Thank you SpiritQuest!

Susan, Edmonton, Alberta

Thank you for a wonderful experience. All the instructors we had were incredible, you really pick top notch people. Katherine was so easy and wonderful to deal with. We never felt pressured at any time. The experience was life changing.

Manny and Jessica, Tampa, FL

SpiritQuest conducts activities on public land under permit with the Coconino National Forest.